Burner



Jan. 12, 1943. R. c. SABINS 2,307,359

BURNER Filed s t. 4, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- INVENTOR.

1943; R. c. SABINS 2,307,859

BURNER Filed Sept. 4, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 12, 1943 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE BURNER Rolland 0.Sabins, Columbus, Ohio Application September 4, 1941, Serial No. 409,476

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved burner and moreparticularly to a pot type burner of the character used in stoves orheaters burning liquid hydrocarbons.

Burners of this character vaporize or gasify the liquid fuel and burn itas a gas or vapor. The burner is fed with fuel which spreads into a thinlayer or film upon the bottom of the pot. This layer or film is heatedby radiant heat from the flame which is spaced upwardly from the liquidand also by means of heat conducted through the walls of the vessel. Airis admitted into the pot burner through small openings in the lateralwall. These openings are located at varying heights upon the wall. Thelower openings admit primary air which causes a preliminary or partialcombustion of the gases and vapors adjacent the oil film upon thebottomof the pot. This primary combustion heats the film to cause thevaporization and gasification necessary to support the combustion. Italso heats gases and vapors passing through or adjacent the lower orprimary flame so that the gases and vapors are further broken down. Thesensible heat imparted to the gases and vapors as well as their breakingdown provides a hot upper flame when these gases meet the secondary aircoming in through upper series of openings in the pot walls. Whenproperly designed, the combustion is complete and the products ofcombustion are free from soot or unburned gases.

The ellicient design of a burner adapted to operate upon a given rate offuel flow is relatively simple. In commercial practice, however, it isnecessary to provide a burner capable of operating over a relativelywide range of heat production and consequently with a similarly widerange of fuel supply. This is especially true when the burners are usedin space heaters. At times it is desired to operate the burner with alow pilot flame and a minimum fuel consumption. At other times themaximum heat output is de sired. The requirements may suddenly changefrom the minimum to the maximum, as, for example, When the heater isthermostatically controlled to maintain the heated space or rooms to agiven temperature.

The operation of such burners is normally controlled by means ofadjustable or variable fuel metering valves in connection with aconstant level valve giving a fuel flow under a constant head orpressure. One form of construction designed for the purpose of improvingcombustion over a wide range of valve settings comprises a ring locatedin the lower portion of the burner and extending inwardly from thewalls. Primary air openings are located below such rings and secondaryair openings above the rings. In some constructions additional secondaryair. may be said to enter above the ring. While such a ring may causeeflicient operation at low Or intermediate fuel settings, it lowers theefficiency at high fuel settings. This is for the reason that the ringshields a substantial portion of the burner bottom from the radiant orreflected energy of the flame. Further, such rings are of thin metal andusually are placed loosely in the burner, resting on pins or otherspaced supports. Consequently, heat absorbed by the ring is notadequately transferred to the pot wall and hottomby conduction. Thus theheat is not transmitted where it is needed and in addition there is thetendency for the ring to get so hot that it distorts and sags out of itsproper position. In extreme cases the ring may sag into the streams ofair coming from the primary air openings below the ring and have holesburned through it. To reduce these objectionable results it is necessaryto make the rings of more expensive, heat resistant steel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedpot type burner operating efiiciently throughout a wide range of fuelconsumption.

It is also an object to provide a burner having baffle means exposingportions of the base of the burner adjacent the wall to heat from aflame in the upper portion of the burner.

It is an additional object to provide bafile means connected to theburner walls in such manner as to facilitate heat transfer thereto.

It is another object to provide a burnerconstruction having no airopenings extending through the pot walls below the baffle means.

It is. also an object to provide circumferentially spaced bafile meansand air openings adapted to direct air upwardly and downwardly adjacentthe spaces between the baiiie means.

It is a further object to provide a burner having a central raisedportion in the base to make the flame more stable in location andincrease the efliciency of the combustion.

It is an additional object to provide bafiie means which is rigid inconstruction and adapted for manufacture from inexpensive materials.

It is another object to provide a burner which is simple in design andoperation and adapted for commercial production and use.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

section, showing the method of mounting the bafiles;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a baflle as seen from the rear; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary section showing the fuel inlet to the bottomof the burner.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the burne comprises a substantiallycylindrical wall portion I I having a slightly depressed bottom portion12. The bottom portion |2 is provided with a centrally located raisedsection l3, the center portion H of which may be adjusted vertically.This portion i3 is shown in the drawings as a separate member weldedinto the bottom l2. The upper portion of the pot wall flares outwardlyfor a short distance, this outwardly flared portion being provided witha plurality of air inlet openings|5, and the wall has a cylindricalportion I5 above these openings. A plurality of series l1, l8 and IQ ofopenings for introduction of air into the burner are provided at spacedpoints upon the vertical wall I l. i a

The ring 26, best shown in Figure 5, is provided in the lower portion ofthe burner, this ring having portions 2| which are secured to the innerface of the burner wall by spot-welding or by any other desired means.Intermediate portions 22 of the ring extend inwardly and are spaced fromthe wall ll. These portions 22 are adapted to receive the baffle members23 and to retain them in place. As best shown in Figure 6, each bafiiemember 23 is provided with a downwardly extending portion 24 which isadapted to fit in behind a ring portion 22. Each member 23 is alsoprovided with lateral wall portions 25 and 26 which extend rearwardlyand engage the lateral shoulders 21 and 28 of the ringportion 22, asbest shown in Figure 5. The edges of the walls 25 and 2B engage the faceof the intermediate ring portions 2|. The bafiie members 23 are thusrigidlysupported and have substantial surfaces in contact with the ring2| so as to transmit heat to that ring and through the ring to the potwall As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the inner ends of the members 23areclosely adjacent each other, while the outer ends secured to the wallare spaced apart. There are thus provided a plurality of triangularspaces, the apices of which intersect the central circular openingformed by the inner edges of the members 23. These openings permittransfer of gases and vapors from the lower portion of the burner to theupper portion and they also permit radiant heat to pass downwardly fromthe upper portion of the burner to the bottom of the burner.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the lowermost row of air openings islocated immediately above the ring 2| and comprises openings 3|, shownin Figure 3, which incline upwardly and direct the entering stream ofair upwardly, and also the openings 32, shown in Figure 4, which areinclined downwardly and direct the entering stream of air downwardly.These upwardly and downwardly directed openings are placed alternatelyin the series. The pot is provided adjacent its bottom with a fuel inletopening 33, as shown in Figure 7, and also as shown in Figure '7 may bemade without the central raised portion l3. The upper portion of theburner is provided with the circular flange 34 by which the burner isusually supported upon a partition or flange formed integrally with thecombustion chamber or housing with which the burner is associated inuse.

The baflie members 23 comprise die-formed metal sections which may becheaply formed from ordinary black iron. Since the sections are rigid indesign, due to their positive support and their lateral walls 25 and 25,they will not sag under heat and due to their location will not get inthe line of flow from any of the air inlet openings. It is thusunnecessary to form the sections of more expensive heat resisting alloysteels. Further, should any section become damaged, it may be replacedwithout the necessity of replacing other adjacent sections. These bamesections are so positioned that the entire wall below them isimperforate and no primary air is admitted below their level.

The upwardly directed openings 3| and downwardly directed openings 32are located opposite the triangular spaces intermediate the bafiies andare alternately placed. Thus air is directed downwardly upon one side ofeach baffle and upwardly upon the opposite side. The downwardly directedair streams pass downwardly between the sections and supply primarycombustion supporting air in the lower zone below the baflies. Thesestreams also provide means for purging the heavy oil vapors in the lowerzone and causing them to flow inwardly and upwardly in the center of theburner where they will mix with the combustion supporting air coming inthrough the upper series of openings. The intermediate upwardly directedair streams flowing through openings 3| also tend to cause upward flowsat intermediate portions of the periphery of the burner so that thevapors and gases are kept moving and uniformly mixed and burned. Thegases are carried upwardly and reach their final combustion stage bymixing with the secondary air coming in from the upper rows of openings.

Due to their wide contact with the ring 2| and its intimate contact withthe burner walls, heat from the burner sections is carried to the burnerwalls and bottom, which results in the thorough heating of the liquidfuel on the bottom. This additional heat gives the burner the ability toburn efficiently a very low flame, the heat aiding in generation ofvapors in the bottom thereof. The burner also is very efiicient in highfire operation and reaches a proper operation at high fire setting muchmore rapidly than a conventional type of burner with a flat pilot ringor bafiie. The fact that the bafiie sections 23 are spaced apart allowsthe reflected and radiant energy from the flame above the baffle to passdirectly through the baffle and raise the temperature of the burnerbottom and of the gases and vapors between the bottom and the bafiie. Anordinary flat type of ring baiiie prevents the passage of this radiantheat. Also, the larger volume of gases being generated on the bottom atmedium and high fire are caused to flow upwardly between the segments orbaflie sections 23 by means of the upwardly directed air jets throughopenings 3|, which causes them to mix more thoroughly and more rapidlythan with the conventional type of flat pilot or bafile ring, whichforces all the gases to pass out through the annular opening in thecenter of the ring.

The raised portion I3 with its adjustable section [4 in the center ofthe bottom of the burner, has been found in actual practice to locatethe center of the flame and to cause the flame to burn more steadilythan where this element is not used. It also serves to heat the gases toa higher degree of temperature and to cause the flame to burn with abluer tinge. Without this raised portion, and particularly with theusual type of ring baffle, there is a tendency for the flame at lowlevels to float around the bottom area with a continuously moving flamecehter. It is not necessary that the raised portion l3 have anadjustable element, as it may be made as a portion of the bottom l2 andwhen properly proportioned to the size of pot and the character of thebafiie, will function efficiently. As shown in Figure '7, the raisedportion may be eliminated entirely and the remainder of the burnerconstruction, including the specific form of baffle, will function tohave the advantages which have been set forth herein.

The forms of construction shown are to be understood to be illustrative,as portions and relationships of the parts may be modified to meetvarying conditions and requirements, and I contemplate such variationsas come within the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. In a pot type burner, a circumferentiallyextending ring secured to the inner wall of the burner at anintermediate point thereon, portions fitted in spaces between the ringand pot wall, c

said baflle members having downwardly directed flanges engaging theinner face of the ring.

3. In a pot type burner, a plurality of bailles of limitedcircumferential extent secured to the pot wall and extending inwardlytherefrom; the bafiles having spaces therebetween in plan view, the potwall having openingstherein adjacent said spaces.

4. In a pot type burner, a plurality of bafiles of limitedcircumferential extent secured to the pot wall and extending inwardlytherefrom, the bafiles having spaces therebetween in plan view, andhaving additional openings therein above the baflles, the portion of thepot wall below the bafiles being imperforate.

ROLLAND C. SABINS.

